A Boy Called Christmas

Before the story begins, Nikolas' mother dies protecting him from a bear (who continues to pop up in the story). His father also meets a dramatic, violent death, after he's participated in the kidnapping and imprisonment of an elf boy. The elves imprison Nikolas with a murderous pixie and a troll who plans to eat him. Thanks to a poison nurtured by the pixie, the troll's head literally explodes, with much gore and grossness. A hunter shoots a reindeer character with an arrow and later jokes about it when against all odds, the reindeer lives and re-enters the hunter's life. Nikolas' only toy and friend is a turnip carved to look like a doll, a last present from his dead mom -- so his mean aunt makes it into a soup and doesn't tell him till he's eaten it. The leader of the elves is a hostile fellow who sent his kindhearted predecessor on an assignment where she was quickly devoured.

Lots of bathroom humor, mostly involving Blitzen's weaponized pee (called "wee" here because it's British) skills.

Parents need to know that A Boy Called Christmas, now adapted for a Netflix movie, is a Father Christmas origin story, but maybe not the nice cozy tale you're expecting. Lead character Nikolas, the 11-year-old son of a poor Finnish woodcutter, eventually becomes the figure we now know as Santa Claus, magical giver of toys, spreader of goodwill, and friend to all -- but not before he's lost both parents to violent death, been imprisoned by elves, and only saved from being eaten by a troll by the fact that the troll's head explodes, with much gore. Blitzen the reindeer pees on people for fun, so there's plenty of bathroom humor. Nikolas shows selfless courage when he rescues an elf boy kidnapped by greed-driven humans, and there are frequently repeated messages about goodwill, kindness, and how the joy of giving and belief in magic make everything better -- "Papa, please. Toys are great. But being good is better than being rich." But it's an uneasy, half-baked mix of trauma, silliness, and gross-out humor that may traumatize more than delight some young readers expecting a nice Santa story.